Tour of Flanders Sportive and Tour

effillo

Hi,

Not sure if this is the correct area of the forum.

We are hoping to travel to watch tge Tour of Flanders next year and ride the sportive. For simplicity we want to go with an organised tour/company for the first time. Does anyone have any experience of companies that offer this and can you give any recommendations?

ugo.santalucia

Baxter's?

champson

When I went for the first time, I just booked hotel well in advance, turned up at registration and start, job done. I honestly can't see what value an organised tour adds, unless you don't have transport or maybe want to meet people in the group.

effillo

champson wrote:

When I went for the first time, I just booked hotel well in advance, turned up at registration and start, job done. I honestly can't see what value an organised tour adds, unless you don't have transport or maybe want to meet people in the group.

It was more to take the thinking element out of it for race day. The tour I was looking at takes you to the start and then out onto course in a couple of places by bus, meaning you don't need to use the shuttles or do a whole lot of research in advance.

guevarca

One change this year on race day was that many roads into Oudenaarde were closed in the morning and stewards were getting you to park u and take shuttle buses into the town. In all previous years we have still parked right near Oudenaarde then walked in to watch the womens start etc but this was a notable difference this year that on the Sunday it was difficult to get any nearer to Oudenaarde without being ushered into a temporary carpark with a shuttle bus

Beatmaker

effillo wrote:

champson wrote:

When I went for the first time, I just booked hotel well in advance, turned up at registration and start, job done. I honestly can't see what value an organised tour adds, unless you don't have transport or maybe want to meet people in the group.

It was more to take the thinking element out of it for race day. The tour I was looking at takes you to the start and then out onto course in a couple of places by bus, meaning you don't need to use the shuttles or do a whole lot of research in advance.

I wouldn't want to be ferried around, part of the experience of de Ronde is soaking up the atmosphere. Follow the crowds to the bus stop by Oudenaarde station and get a bus to the Kwaremont. Drink lots of Kwaremont beer on the Kwaremont and make some new friends, then get the bus back to Oudenaarde and drink in the bar across from the station until the crowds die down on the train platforms (assuming you're staying in Ghent).

kingstonian

I honestly wouldn’t bother with an organised tour. I did it this year, we stayed in a great B&B about 10km from the start which was a good warm up before the ride. Then the next day we drove to about 200m from where the buses pick you up and take you to the Kwaremont. I hadn’t been before, had my wife and two kids in tow, and it was really so easy.

durhamwasp

Don't bother with an organised tour. Watching the Ronde couldn't be easier, basically get yourself to Oudenaarde (stay there or train from local town) and then jump on the free shuttle buses to Kwaremont. Have a walk about from there, watch it on big screens when its not going past, then get the shuttle bus back to Oudenaarde at the end. Honestly cant be a much easier big race to watch.

Check our website below for our review of the weekend.

chrisw12

As above, watching the race and doing the sportive is so easy, don’t bother with organised. We stay in kjortvik, register on Friday, sportive Saturday pissed in night, watch race on Kwaermont on Sunday, re ride some of the climbs Monday then ferry home. Easily the best weekend of the year.

kiteloopy

same as what others have said; get to Kwaremont via the free bus. It's the best place to watch it.